To contact me:
Email: lanitiki@msn.com
Tiki Enterprises
P.O. Box 1777
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii 96740
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Ralph Shaw - King of
the Ukulele
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Aloha from Kailua Kona!
The ukulele came to the islands of Hawai`i on
the ship Ravenscrag, which arrived in Honolulu on August 23, 1879 from
Madeira, Portugal. It wasn’t called an ukulele then, rather a braguinha,
or machete de braga. The instrument quickly made its way to our
sugar plantations. Eventually it became the favorite musical instrument of
non other than our very own Merrie Monarch, King Kal ākaua.
He loved to play it, and it was his influence and patronage that gave the
little wooden box such immediate acceptance in the islands.
There are several legends as to how the ukulele got its
name uku (flea) lele (jumping). However, I prefer Queen
Liliu`okalani’s more poetical translation of uku (a gift) lele
(to come). Be that as it may, no matter what meaning you ascribe to the
term “ukulele”, there is only one correct way to pronounce it in
Hawai`i.: “oo-koo-ley-ley”, not the way they say it on the
mainland: “you-ka-lelly”.
The main focus of my website is to share the joy I have
found over the years with this marvelous little thing. Fun Hawaiian toy,
hobby, instrument, companion, way of life, treasure — it is all of these
things to me. And I sincerely hope that you can discover some of these
qualities on your own. So, if you have a couple of minutes and want to try
something really fun, check out the sample lesson.
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